1952 Detroit Tigers season
| 1952 Detroit Tigers | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Walter Briggs, Sr., Walter Briggs, Jr. |
| General manager(s) | Charlie Gehringer |
| Manager(s) | Red Rolfe, Fred Hutchinson |
| Local television |
WWJ (Van Patrick) |
| Local radio |
WJBK/WXYZ (Van Patrick) |
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The 1952 Detroit Tigers had a record of 50–104 (.325) — the worst record in Tigers' history until the 2003 Tigers lost 119 games. Virgil Trucks became the third pitcher in major league history to throw two no-hitters in one season.[1]
Regular season
The 1952 Tigers winning percentage ranks as the second worst in the Tigers' history, as shown in this chart. The club was managed by Red Rolfe (April 15 through July 4), who compiled a win-loss record of 23–49 (.319), then by pitcher-manager Fred Hutchinson, who had a record of 27–55 (.329) from July 5 through closing day, September 28.[2]
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Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 95 | 59 | .617 | -- |
| Cleveland Indians | 93 | 61 | .604 | 2 |
| Chicago White Sox | 81 | 73 | .526 | 14 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 79 | 75 | .513 | 16 |
| Washington Senators | 78 | 76 | .506 | 17 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 78 | .494 | 19 |
| St. Louis Browns | 64 | 90 | .416 | 31 |
| Detroit Tigers | 50 | 104 | .325 | 45 |
Record vs. opponents
1952 American League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHI | STL | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 12–10 | 9–13 | 16–6 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 8–14 | |||||
| Chicago | 10–12 | — | 8–14–1 | 17–5 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 14–8 | 13–9–1 | |||||
| Cleveland | 13–9 | 14–8–1 | — | 16–6 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 12–10 | |||||
| Detroit | 6–16 | 5–17 | 6–16 | — | 9–13 | 5–17–1 | 8–14 | 11–11–1 | |||||
| New York | 14–8 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 13–9 | — | 13–9 | 14–8 | 15–7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 10–12 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 17–5–1 | 9–13 | — | 14–8 | 9–13 | |||||
| St. Louis | 11–11 | 8–14 | 7–15 | 14–8 | 8–14 | 8–14 | — | 8–14–1 | |||||
| Washington | 14–8 | 9–13–1 | 10–12 | 11–11–1 | 7–15 | 13–9 | 14–8–1 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- June 3, 1952: Dizzy Trout, George Kell, Johnny Lipon, and Hoot Evers were traded by the Tigers to the Boston Red Sox for Walt Dropo, Fred Hatfield, Don Lenhardt, Johnny Pesky, and Bill Wight.[3]
- August 14, 1952: Dick Littlefield, Marlin Stuart, Don Lenhardt and Vic Wertz were traded by the Tigers to the St. Louis Browns for Jim Delsing, Ned Garver, Bud Black and Dave Madison.[4]
Roster
| 1952 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Ginsberg, JoeJoe Ginsberg | 113 | 307 | 68 | .221 | 6 | 36 |
| 1B | Dropo, WaltWalt Dropo | 115 | 459 | 128 | .279 | 23 | 70 |
| 2B | Priddy, JerryJerry Priddy | 75 | 279 | 79 | .283 | 4 | 20 |
| 3B | Hatfield, FredFred Hatfield | 112 | 441 | 104 | .236 | 2 | 25 |
| SS | Berry, NeilNeil Berry | 73 | 189 | 43 | .228 | 0 | 13 |
| OF | Groth, JohnnyJohnny Groth | 141 | 524 | 149 | .284 | 4 | 51 |
| OF | Wertz, VicVic Wertz | 85 | 285 | 70 | .246 | 17 | 51 |
| OF | Mullin, PatPat Mullin | 97 | 255 | 64 | .251 | 7 | 35 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Souchock, SteveSteve Souchock | 92 | 265 | 66 | .249 | 13 | 45 |
| Federoff, AlAl Federoff | 74 | 231 | 56 | .242 | 0 | 14 |
| Mapes, CliffCliff Mapes | 86 | 193 | 26 | .197 | 9 | 23 |
| Pesky, JohnnyJohnny Pesky | 69 | 177 | 45 | .254 | 1 | 9 |
| Batts, MattMatt Batts | 56 | 173 | 41 | .237 | 3 | 13 |
| Kell, GeorgeGeorge Kell | 39 | 152 | 45 | .296 | 1 | 17 |
| Lenhardt, DonDon Lenhardt | 45 | 144 | 27 | .188 | 3 | 13 |
| Lipon, JohnnyJohnny Lipon | 39 | 136 | 30 | .221 | 0 | 12 |
| Kuenn, HarveyHarvey Kuenn | 19 | 80 | 26 | .325 | 0 | 8 |
| Taylor, BenBen Taylor | 7 | 18 | 3 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Evers, HootHoot Evers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gray, TedTed Gray | 35 | 224 | 12 | 17 | 4.14 | 138 |
| Houtteman, ArtArt Houtteman | 35 | 221 | 8 | 20 | 4.36 | 109 |
| Trucks, VirgilVirgil Trucks | 35 | 197 | 5 | 19 | 3.97 | 129 |
| Newhouser, HalHal Newhouser | 25 | 154 | 9 | 9 | 3.74 | 57 |
| Wight, BillBill Wight | 23 | 143.7 | 5 | 9 | 3.88 | 57 |
| Garver, NedNed Garver | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 | 3 |
| Black, BudBud Black | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 10.13 | 0 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoeft, BillyBilly Hoeft | 34 | 125 | 2 | 7 | 4.32 | 65 |
| Trout, DizzyDizzy Trout | 10 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 5.33 | 20 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Littlefield, DickDick Littlefield | 28 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4.34 | 32 |
| Hutchinson, FredFred Hutchinson | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.38 | 12 |
Awards and honors
League top five finishers
- Art Houtteman: AL leader in losses (20)
- Virgil Trucks: #2 in AL in losses (19)
- Ted Gray: #3 in AL in losses (17)
Players ranking among top 100 of all time at position
The following members of the 1952 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their positions, as ranked by The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:
- Jerry Priddy: 73rd best second baseman of all time
- Johnny Pesky: 20th best shortstop of all time (played 69 games for 1952 Tigers)
- George Kell: 30th best third baseman of all time (played only 39 games for 1952 Tigers)
- Vic Wertz: 61st best right fielder of all time
- Harvey Kuenn: 62nd best right fielder of all time (played only 19 games for 1952 Tigers)
- Hal Newhouser: 36th best pitcher of all time
- Virgil Trucks: 61st best pitcher of all time
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jamestown
Notes
- ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 139, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ↑ Retrosheet.org
- ↑ Walt Dropo at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Bud Black at Baseball Reference
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- Baseball-Reference.com 1952 Detroit Tigers